The Early Years with Libby at Chicago: A Retrospective

Abstract

Like other scientific advances, radiocarbon dating did not happen in a moment. The fortieth anniversary could have been celebrated as early as 1986 — since, as we shall see, the idea was certainly in Willard Libby’s mind in 1946 — or as late as 1991, since the first date list of unknowns appeared in Science in 1951 (Arnold & Libby 1951). In fact, what is surprising in retrospect is not that it took so long, but that it was accomplished so quickly. In this age of team research, centers and consortia, it is remarkable how much of the accomplishment was due to one man.